Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank you for coming before the committee today. I would echo the previous comments, that it's disappointing the minister couldn't find time.
To give a bit of context, back on November 2 when the minister appeared before the committee, he indicated that the supplementary estimates would be used to take additional steps to enhance the quality of life in the first nations communities. That was his statement to the committee.
In a briefing note to the minister around the financial situation in 2005-06, the department had identified an issue, saying that Indian and Northern Affairs' financial situation is constrained. It went on to say that the situation exists because “new funding neither covers program growth (price and volume) nor does it allow the Department to fully address such pressures as emergency management assistance, social assistance or educational funding pressures.” That was advice in which the department acknowledged it was having some trouble in its ability to meet a growing need identified in the communities.
Then we had on February 22 a news release by both the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Indian Affairs announcing substantial funding. This was on February 22. These were funds that, in my understanding of it, in some cases needed to be expended by the organizations by March 31, so there were roughly four or five weeks to spend significant amounts of money.
Then the supplementary estimates, in the English version on page 82 under the health department, talk about the fact that some money from health—My understanding of it is that this funding was being deferred because of delays in the development of an implementation plan for the aboriginal health human resources initiative.
Those are just a couple of examples of where money that seems to be needed in communities either was very late coming in the fiscal year or has been deferred because of delays in moving forward with initiatives.
When we know there are such pressing needs in communities around housing, around water, around child welfare—the list is endless—I wonder if you could comment on why there are delays in getting money out so that it's almost impossible for organizations to spend it so late in a fiscal year, and why initiatives like this human resources health initiative were not moved on earlier in the fiscal year, so that we'd actually have results in this fiscal year.